With Bisping fight a no-go, UFC's Cung Le focused on 'TUF: China'

Cung Le really wanted a fight with Michael Bisping, but with the potential bout now a no-go, the UFC middleweight is hoping to focus his efforts on China.

More specifically, he’s hoping a potential coaching gig on “The Ultimate Fighter: China,” which MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported as likely, comes to fruition. Le, a longtime Sanshou kickboxer, believes a footprint in the country could be massive for the UFC.

“I’m here to help out any way I can with UFC in China,” Le recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I think it’s a huge market, and once they break into there, it’s truly going to be global.”

“TUF: China” debuts in November, and a live finale is targeted for March in Macau. Producers are searching for UFC hopefuls from the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions who speak Mandarin and are of Chinese descent.

No head coaches have been formally announced the show, though Le (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) appears to be a frontrunner. The former Strikeforce champion, who hasn’t competed since a stunning knockout of Rich Franklin at UFC on FUEL TV 6 in November, said it would be a nice consolation after a previous bout fell apart.

“I really wanted Michael Bisping,” Le of the English fighter, who instead is expected to fight fellow contender Mark Munoz at an Oct. 26 event in Manchester. “I thought we working something out, but the word was they were targeting me to coach (instead).”

So would he rather fight or coach? Le isn’t getting any younger, and he’s already seen some lengthy layoffs between his bouts. He said his preference was a meeting with Bisping, but now that the fight is off the table, the coaching stint would work just fine.

Additionally, following an elbow injury, Le is finally back in the gym and getting to the point where he could coach “TUF: China” cast members without any injury hurdles.

“I’m back in the gym now and training,” he said. “The elbow is getting better, but I still can’t take it to that max limit yet. I’m hitting pads, and I think the next step is to wrestle and grapple a little bit. But I’m hitting pads and doing a lot of what we call situational sparring.”

But what about after “TUF?” Like so many other elder statesmen of the sport, Le said he just wants big fights against the opponents fans care about. Bisping fit the bill, but he believes Vitor Belfort or Costa Philippou would too. So if he coaches “TUF,” he thinks he’ll have plenty of options afterward.

“I’m 41 now, so I think big fights, big names, main events, co-main events,” he said. “But I don’t know. I never really put any thought into it. I’m just excited to still be part of the sport and coming off a big win.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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